Neck-yoke.



-m.s23,951. PATENTED JUNE '19, 906,

J MILLER NECK YOKE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 1905.

JEREMIAH MILLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

NECKYI'OKE. i

To all whomit may concern.-

' Be it known'that I, JEREMIAH MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at No. 1244 Ninety-Fourth street, Chicago, in the county of Cook, in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Neck-Yokes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in jneck-yokes.- Y It is well known that those neck-yokes having pole receiving and supporting center pieces which are easily detachable from thevehicle-pole in use are unsafe and dangerous in use for the reason that in case the draft-' animals take sudden fright or lunge forward by accidentally stumbling or otherwise the neck-yoke is liable to and often does become disengaged from the pole, allowing the free end of the same to fall to the ground, causinga wreck of the vehicle andalso'frequently causing serious injury to the occupants thereof. o

The object, therefore, of my present invention is to obviate the liability to such accidents by providing a cheap, simple, and reliable neck-yoke which is non-detachable from the pole when in its normal position for use under all conditions of service, and yet is readily removable when not in use.

The principal novel feature of my invention resides in the means for uniting the neckyoke to the vehicle-pole.

Similar reference-numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, in which Figure 1'is a view in elevation ofmy invention, partly in section and in position upon the free end of a vehicle-pole in position for use. Fig. 2 is a side View of my neck-yoke broken away at both ends and showing the same in its holding engagement with the ve- 'hicle-pole sleeve, which is shown in cross-section. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, both of which are broken away and which are in substantially longitudinal alinement, showing the position it is necessary for them to assume in either engaging or detaching the neck-yoke from the pole. Fig. 4 is a'plan view of the slotted end 4 Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed July 26, 1905. Serial No. 271,271.

ratented June 19, 1906.

of the sleeve, showing the slot which receives the interlocking center piece of the neck-yoke ,proper.

The vehicle-pole 1 of the usual or other proper construction is provided upon its free end with a metallic sleeve 2, rigidly secured thereto by diametric rivets or bolts 3 or'any other proper manner. The outer or free end 4 of this sleeve is hollow and semispherical and I 4 v "UNITED sTATES PATENT oEEIoE. i z

.has a longitudinal slot 5' in its upper face to I receive and engage the center piece of the neck-yoke about to be described. The lower face of this hollow end 4 is provided with a suitable perforation 6 to permit the escape of such moisture or other foreign matter as may accumulate therein in use- The slot 5-is of any proper form and dimensions to perform its function of admitting and holdingly engaging the cooperating neckyoke center piece.

The neck-yoke body 7 is of the usual or other proper form, having the usual well-understood breast-strap connections (not shown) and is provided midway of its ends with a two-part sleeve consisting of the concavoconvex plate or piece 8, which is fixed upon the upper face of the neck-yoke, and the plate or piece 9 of similar form and dimensions, excepting that it is provided midway of its ends with the pendent lug 10, whose greatest width is parallel with the neck-yoke body for the purpose hereinafter described. These two plates 8 and 9 are rigidly secured together and to each otherby the diametric bolts or rivets 11. The lug 10 is of any proper form,

preferably circular in contour with plain or convex sides 12 and is secured to the plate 9 by the short integral neck 13, preferably circular in cross-section.

The operation and manner of employing my invention is obvious and, briefly stated, is as follows: To mount the neck-yoke in position for use, theoperator first places the neckyoke in approximately parallel relation to the vehicle-pole, Fig. 3, and then passesthe lug 10 through the slot 5 in the sleeve 2, after which he swings the neck-yoke into position for use at right angles to the said pole, as shown in Fi 1, in which position'the neckyoke is in a ocked but looseand pivotal engagement with the said sleeve and pole, from which it cannot be disengaged without first placing the neck-yoke in parallel relation with the sleeve, asbefore mentioned, which is yoke it cannot be shifted into a position in which it can be detached from the sleeve 2.

While the center-piece plates 8 and 9 may be omitted and the lug 10 may be made integral with the neck-yoke body or otherwise fixed thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, I prefer the construction shown in the drawings.

Having thus described my invention and the manner of employing the same, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a neck-yoke, a yoke-body having a fixed center piece provided with a pendent lug Whose greatest thickness is in parallel relation with the yoke-body, and a cooperating sleeve fixed on the vehicle-pole, and having its projecting free end vertically slotted to receive the said lug and form a locked engagement therewith, as described.

2. The combination of a neck-yoke having a fixed pendent lug whose greater thickness is in parallel relation to the yoke-body, and a cooperating sleeve adapted to be fixed on the free end of the vehicle-pole and provided at its forward end with a longitudinal slot adapted to receive and holdingly engage the said lug when the neck-yoke is in its normal position for use, as described.

3. In a neck-yoke a yoke-body, a two-part center piece fixed. to the yoke-body and provided with a pendent lug whose minimum thickness is at right angles to the yoke-body, and a sleeve fixed on the free end of the vehicle-pole, and having a longitudinalslot in its forward end adapted to admit the said lug in one position thereof, but to prevent its disengagement when in its normal holding engagement.

4. The combination of a sleeve rigidly mounted upon the forward end of a vehiclepole and having at its free end a semisphcrical head vertically slotted and adapted to receive a pendent lug therein; a neck-yoke provided at its center with a rigidly-attached pendent lug, having its greater thickness par allel with the neck-yoke body and adapted when the yoke-body is parallel with the said vehicle-pole to enter the slotted head of said sleeve and form a locking engagement there with when the neck-yoke is in, its normal position for use.

Signed by me at Chicago, in the county of Cook, in the State of Illinois, this 24th day of July, A. D. 1905.

JEREMIAH MILLER. l/Vitnesses:

WATTS P. DENNY, AUGUSTA VIBERG. 

